My daughter Anna wrote this blog post earlier this week from Thailand, where she is ministering in a place that in large part, is dedicated to sex tourism and all the darkness that goes with it. Here is what God is doing in her life and showing her about His plans for Phuket, Thailand.
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"One of the questions our leaders ask us every day at debrief (a time where we discuss what happened and what we saw the previous night ministering on Bangala) is “What is God teaching you?”
Something that I’ve slowly realized He’s teaching me is His faithfulness and hope.
Yesterday, I was sick. One of the Real Life girls I watch Criminal Minds with on a nightly basis had been quite ill with a fever and some nausea. And I was fairly certain I had caught her sickness.
At one point, I was lying in my bed, wrapped up in a blanket and my sleeping bag. Freezing even though it was in the low nineties (with a heat index in the low hundreds) and I’m on the bed without a fan. As my head ached and I shivered I determined that I was going out that night unless God specifically told me not to, or someone else made me stay.
As the night wore on and I continued to feel feverish I lowered my standards to stay home to someone even saying, “You don’t look so good. Maybe you shouldn’t go out.” But no one did, and I really felt the need to go out that night. So I told God, “If you want me to do this, you’re gonna have to heal me up and give me all the strength I need for this task. Not just for my body, but for my soul as well. I can’t take another spiritual beating like last time. I need some hope or something.”
I’m sure to most of you it will come as no surprise that He did just that. But to me it was as miraculous as the parting of the Red Sea. Not only did I feel fine, I was better than fine. My body felt healthy, strong and energetic. And my spirit was overflowing with readiness, peace and resolve.
On the drive down I listened to a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that perfectly sums up my time thus far in Thailand, especially on Bangala Road. The whole song is beautiful, and the fact that it was written after the death of the artist’s young daughter only adds to the potency and power of it. Below are the lyrics that God pressed on me during this time. I have no doubt in my mind that someday Bangala Road, as it is now, will be merely ruins that the faithful can dance upon.
"One of the questions our leaders ask us every day at debrief (a time where we discuss what happened and what we saw the previous night ministering on Bangala) is “What is God teaching you?”Something that I’ve slowly realized He’s teaching me is His faithfulness and hope.
Yesterday, I was sick. One of the Real Life girls I watch Criminal Minds with on a nightly basis had been quite ill with a fever and some nausea. And I was fairly certain I had caught her sickness.
At one point, I was lying in my bed, wrapped up in a blanket and my sleeping bag. Freezing even though it was in the low nineties (with a heat index in the low hundreds) and I’m on the bed without a fan. As my head ached and I shivered I determined that I was going out that night unless God specifically told me not to, or someone else made me stay.
As the night wore on and I continued to feel feverish I lowered my standards to stay home to someone even saying, “You don’t look so good. Maybe you shouldn’t go out.” But no one did, and I really felt the need to go out that night. So I told God, “If you want me to do this, you’re gonna have to heal me up and give me all the strength I need for this task. Not just for my body, but for my soul as well. I can’t take another spiritual beating like last time. I need some hope or something.”
I’m sure to most of you it will come as no surprise that He did just that. But to me it was as miraculous as the parting of the Red Sea. Not only did I feel fine, I was better than fine. My body felt healthy, strong and energetic. And my spirit was overflowing with readiness, peace and resolve.
On the drive down I listened to a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that perfectly sums up my time thus far in Thailand, especially on Bangala Road. The whole song is beautiful, and the fact that it was written after the death of the artist’s young daughter only adds to the potency and power of it. Below are the lyrics that God pressed on me during this time. I have no doubt in my mind that someday Bangala Road, as it is now, will be merely ruins that the faithful can dance upon.
Slowly panic turns to pain
As we awake to what remains
And sift through the ashes that are left behind
But buried deep beneath
All our broken dreams
We have this hope
Out of these ashes beauty will rise
We will dance among the ruins
We will see it with our own eyes
Out of these ashes beauty will rise
For we know joy is coming in the morning
In the morning beauty will rise
If you can't believe, I will believe for you
Cause I have seen the signs of spring
Out of these ashes beauty will rise
We will dance among the ruins
We will see it with our own eyes
Out of these ashes beauty will rise
For we know joy is coming in the morning
I can almost feel the hand of God
Reaching for my face
To wipe the tears away
Say its time to make everything new
Make it all new
This is our hope
This is a promise
This is our hope
This is a promise
It will take our breath away
To see the beauty that's been made
Out of the ashes, out of the ashes
It will take our breath away
To see the beauty that He's made
Out of these ashes, Out of these ashes
Out of these ashes beauty will rise
We will dance among the ruins
We will see it with our own eyes
Out of this darkness new light will shine
And we'll know the joy that’s coming in the morning
In the morning beauty will rise
Beauty will rise
As we awake to what remains
And sift through the ashes that are left behind
But buried deep beneath
All our broken dreams
We have this hope
Out of these ashes beauty will rise
We will dance among the ruins
We will see it with our own eyes
Out of these ashes beauty will rise
For we know joy is coming in the morning
In the morning beauty will rise
If you can't believe, I will believe for you
Cause I have seen the signs of spring
Out of these ashes beauty will rise
We will dance among the ruins
We will see it with our own eyes
Out of these ashes beauty will rise
For we know joy is coming in the morning
I can almost feel the hand of God
Reaching for my face
To wipe the tears away
Say its time to make everything new
Make it all new
This is our hope
This is a promise
This is our hope
This is a promise
It will take our breath away
To see the beauty that's been made
Out of the ashes, out of the ashes
It will take our breath away
To see the beauty that He's made
Out of these ashes, Out of these ashes
Out of these ashes beauty will rise
We will dance among the ruins
We will see it with our own eyes
Out of this darkness new light will shine
And we'll know the joy that’s coming in the morning
In the morning beauty will rise
Beauty will rise
Beauty will rise. We may not see it during our time here, and maybe not even in our lifetime, but God will transform Bangala Road. And we’ve already been dancing on the streets of this ruined city. Someday beauty, true beauty, will rise from the ashes."
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Please continue to pray for Anna, her team, and so many who are still trapped in darkness in Phuket. To read more about the ministry they are doing in Thailand, visit their blog: http://thailand-hs.adventures.org/
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